Business Challenge
The company relied on the Savior biometric attendance system for attendance recording and contractor billing. Management sought assurance regarding the integrity of attendance records and contractor payments.
Our Approach
Understand
Reviewed the end-to-end attendance management process, biometric attendance system controls, manual punch procedures, contractor billing methodology, payroll validation process, and supporting records such as canteen punch data. Conducted discussions with HR, Production, Security, Finance, and contractor representatives.
Assess
Assessed controls surrounding biometric attendance, manual attendance overrides, approval workflows, contractor billing validation, attendance-to-payroll reconciliation, and monitoring mechanisms. Evaluated the adequacy of audit trails for attendance modifications.
Identify
Identified that attendance entries of contractual workers were being manually entered in the Savior system for both In-Time and Out-Time. Supporting approvals and justifications for such manual punches were not available. Further, canteen access records for the same workers were absent, indicating potential non-presence at the plant despite attendance being recorded. Similar trends were observed consistently over the preceding two-year period.
Analyze
Performed manual punch analytics, attendance exception review, attendance-to-contractor billing reconciliation, historical trend analysis, canteen punch validation, and employee-wise attendance pattern analysis. Comparative analysis of historical periods revealed that when biometric attendance was fully operational, canteen punch records closely matched attendance records, unlike the subsequent period dominated by manual entries.
Recommend
Recommended immediate discontinuation of unauthorized manual attendance entries, implementation of maker-checker controls for attendance overrides, mandatory approval workflows, integration of attendance with canteen and access control systems, periodic attendance audits, contractor billing validation controls, and exception-based management reporting.
Implement
Assisted management in developing attendance verification SOPs, manual punch approval matrices, contractor billing validation procedures, attendance exception reports, and system control enhancements to restrict unauthorized attendance modifications.
Monitor
Established periodic review of manual attendance punches, attendance-to-canteen reconciliation, contractor-wise attendance analytics, payroll exception monitoring, surprise verification procedures, and management dashboards for ongoing oversight.
Outcome
The review identified significant attendance irregularities leading to excess contractor billing and payroll leakages. Corrective actions resulted in the recovery, strengthened attendance governance, improved contractor oversight, and significantly reduced the risk of attendance-related fraud and unauthorized payments.
